Sonnen: Conor McGregor is ‘starting to mark out for his own gimmick’

According to Chael Sonnen, it probably wasn’t drugs or alcohol that led to Conor McGregor’s meltdown in Bellator.

Chael Sonnen addressed Conor McGregor’s outburst in Bellator, saying that the UFC champion assaulting a Bellator official made him angry and “changed” their relationship.

According to Sonnen, who knows a thing or two about portraying a character for the public, McGregor is starting to “mark out” and go too far with his gimmick.

“He’s starting to mark out for his own gimmick,” Sonnen said. “As human beings, we are whoever we pretend to be. When you get these guys to adopt a character, over a small period of time, they become that person. We’ve seen this from the highest of levels.”

“This is a real thing,” Sonnen brought up examples from pro-wrestling such as the Ultimate Warrior, then spoke about people in Hollywood doing the same. “Actors do it all the time. The great actors become the characters they’re playing at that time, whether it’s a cowboy, it’s a bad guy — I’m watching Conor mark out for his own gimmick.”

Many speculated that substance abuse may be a reason for McGregor’s meltdown, but Sonnen doesn’t think that’s the case here. He thinks having money, fame and youth led to him changing and believing too much into the persona he created.

“Hey Conor, you’re not really a creep, you just play one on TV! You’re not really a guy who’s out of your mind and can’t really keep your cool. You just play one on TV, then you go back to your real life, Dee and your baby, you go back to your gym and your teammates. But he’s starting to mark out for his own gimmick.”

“People were coming out saying ‘oh he’s on coke, that’s the only reason he would act that way. He was drunk and was on coke.’ I don’t think that’s right — he probably was drunk, that part was probably true.”

Sonnen also went on say that it was “more alarming” that it seems like none of his teammates stopped him or told him off even after the incident.